Founder and studio head Shinji Mikami to leave Tango Gameworks

Tango Gameworks' founder and CEO, Shinji Mikami, is set to leave the studio after more than 12 years with the developer.

In a company-wide email sent to ZeniMax employees seen by TrueAchievements and verified authentic by Bethesda, senior vice president of development at Bethesda Todd Vaughn announced that legendary game designer Shinji Mikami is leaving Xbox Game Studios' Tango Gameworks.

Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami is leaving Tango Gameworks

"I am writing today to let you know that studio head Shinji Mikami has decided to leave Tango Gameworks in the coming months," Vaughn said. "Mikami-san has been a creative leader and supportive mentor to young developers at Tango for 12 years through his work on the Evil Within franchise, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and of course, Hi-Fi Rush."

Tango Gameworks will continue work supporting Ghostwire: Tokyo and Hi-Fi Rush while Bethesda higher-ups work with Tango leadership on what comes next for the studio.

With a career spanning 33 years, Mikami has one of the most impressive CVs in the industry and is credited with creating the original Resident Evil and working on numerous games within the franchise up until Resident Evil 4. Over the years, he also worked on other notable games such as Dino Crisis, Viewtiful Joe, God Hand, and Vanquish.

Mikami founded Tango Gameworks in early 2010, which was then acquired later that year by ZeniMax. He went on to launch the survival horror game The Evil Within in 2014 and the sequel The Evil Within 2 three years later in 2017. More recently, Mikami worked as an executive producer on Ghostwire: Tokyo and Game Pass hit Hi-Fi Rush.

In the email, Vaughn called Hi-Fi Rush "one of the most successful launches for Bethesda and Xbox in recent years," adding that the rhythm-based action game has "generated significant positive momentum for the business and Tango."

Confirming the email's veracity, Bethesda issued a statement to TA reiterating the email's message, adding, "We wish Mikami-san well in the future and are excited by what lies ahead for the talented developers at Tango." Bethesda has now also publicly confirmed Mikami's departure on Twitter.

What are your thoughts on Shinji Mikami leaving Tango Gameworks? Let us know down in the comments.

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Written by Sean Carey

Avid Xbox and achievement fan, Sean has committed to playing the best RPGs, racing games, and first-person shooters Xbox Game Pass and his precious free time will allow. Prior to joining TrueAchievements, Sean gained a degree in journalism from Solent University.